Retooled lumber mill back in business

SONORA - Saws are again cutting lumber and 100 employees went to work last week at the retooled Sierra Pacific Industries mill just outside Sonora, the company announced Friday.

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By Dana M. Nichols

recordnet.com

By Dana M. Nichols

Posted Jul. 10, 2011 at 12:01 AM

By Dana M. Nichols

Posted Jul. 10, 2011 at 12:01 AM

» Social News

SONORA - Saws are again cutting lumber and 100 employees went to work last week at the retooled Sierra Pacific Industries mill just outside Sonora, the company announced Friday.

The Sonora mill and an associated electrical plant had 146 workers when it closed in 2009.

Initially, it looked like the mill might be gone for good. But then the Tuolumne Ecomomic Development Authority and Sierra Pacific officials began collaborating to develop a plan to retool the plant so it could produce lumber from small logs.

The large-diameter trees that were grist for the old mill for many decades have become scarce in the central Sierra Nevada.

Still, the company's area manager Ryan Land said forests have a lot to offer since they include pine, fir and cedar.

That means that between the fencing plant, which uses cedar, and the retooled mill in Sonora, Sierra Pacific can now handle anything local forests have to offer.

"This unique ability to utilize a variety of wood species and log sizes has allowed SPI to retool and expand here in Tuolumne County," Land said.

In addition to the 100 workers that restarted the Sonora Mill, the company expects to hire 30 soon to add a second daily shift.

At the same time, Sierra Pacific Industries also announced it has expanded its Chinese Camp fencing mill by hiring 26 new employees.

Larry Cope, director of the Tuolumne Economic Development Authority, said the 126 new jobs will bring the total number of employees at Standard and Chinese Camp to around 215.

And he said studies show that related work in logging, trucking and supplier firms will expand as a result. "By using an industry standard multiplier, these new jobs will have a total economic effect of 1,000 to 1,200 new jobs," Cope said.

Sierra Pacific is among the world's largest timber companies and is California's largest private property owner, with 1.9 million acres. The company owns more than 70,000 acres in Calaveras County.